"Okay, so hear me out. I was sitting at my table, minding my own goddamn business, looking fly as hell in my taylor-made white frock, talking to everyone and being the great host I am...when all of a sudden this lady, who was one of the moms, starts touching my leg. She was obviously tipsy. Anyway, I was all like «hold up, m'am» and she leaned in and whispered some real kinky things in my ear, calling me a gorgeous dark chocolate man and shit. At that point I didn't know whether I should be flattered or scared so I tried standing up real quick, accidentally touching her elbow, which made her spill her glass of freaking sangria all over my baby-making factory. I felt like I could cry, man, I tell you. I loved that suit!"
James resisted the urge to break into a fit of laughter, pressing his lips into a thin line, nodding, while Antwon explained how he had ended up with a red stain on his crotch the night before.
Joy had left to warm up for the concert and he finally got a break from being completely hypnotized by her presence, catching up with an old friend.
"That was one eventful night, hu?"
"Not nearly as eventful as yours, I presume."
James shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the subject being brought up once again.
"Look, J-man, I'm not saying anything happened because, unlike those sex-crazed nerds over there, I keep it real, and I know baby girl would never hook up just for the hell of it. Especially with you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" James questioned, furrowing his brows.
"You' d never try to get in her pants on a whim, and neither would she. You two never fooled me. Remember the last scene you shot for the show? The one in the rain?"
He nodded, waiting for Antwon to continue.
"That was sexy, man. I mean, there was no way you were only acting. I could tell, Schwann could tell, I'm surprised baby girl couldn't. Then again, you two have been playing cat and mouse for, I don't know, fifteen years?"
"How could we play cat and mouse, she was married."
"You know what they say, the goal might have a goalkeeper but that doesn't mean you can't score."
"You did not just do a sports analogy to suggest cheating."
"Relax man, I don't condone cheating. I'm just saying, you can be married and «randomly» develop feelings for someone other than your spouse, it happens."
"It didn't happen, alright?"
"Suit yourself. We both know it's bound to happen. The Universe, J-man, it has a strange way to make things work." Antwon proclaimed, patting his back. "I'm gonna find myself a ham sandwich, I'm fucking starving."
"Joy's on stage, you guys want to come and watch?" Hilarie peeked through the door, a bright smile on her face.
James followed her to the room the concert was being held in, standing on the side of the improvised stage while Joy sang.
Hilarie divided her attention between the pair, not saying a word the entire time, but watching in awe the way they'd steal glances at each other from time to time, the way James stared lovingly while she danced around the stage, having the time of her life, doing what she loved.
"This is a song I wrote about being so in love with someone you just want to shout it from the rooftops. There's someone out here today that wants to know what it's like. So... here's «Your Woman». Sing along if you know the lyrics." Joy announced, burying her hands in her hair and playing with it a bit. "Okay, here we go... When, when you touch me, when you say my name, I never liked the sound of my name till you said it baby..."
She looked around the room, finding him standing next to Hilarie, deeply concentrated on her figure. She wanted to let him know that love could be simple yet so exciting and amazing at the same time. All she wanted was for him to find it, and finally get what he had been looking for.
"You really rocked that performance, Bette." Hilarie congratulated Joy, wrapping her arms around her.
"Thank you, Ross." Joy blushed.
"I've really missed you and our knitting sessions. Remember when we used to play Prince's «The Cross» and just sit around talking about the golden days between takes?"
"Yeah, and you used to rave about wanting to own hens. Why hens?" Joy questioned, chuckling.
"I don't know, I've always been in love with the idea of living a calm, quiet life surrounded by farm animals, aside from all the craziness in this industry."
"We used to come to you when we needed a maternal figure in the midst of all the craziness and chaos. You give us all such an amazing feeling of inner peace. I'm really happy you joined us today."
"I'm really happy to be here, sweet girl."
"Joyous!"
Joy rolled her eyes playfully at the nickname Stephen had given her, placing both her hands on her hips.
"What's up?"
"Between Superman and Batman, which one is the coolest?"
"Oh, dude, Superman all the way!"
"Ha! Told you!" Stephen hollered to Rob, who was behind them, raising his fist for Joy to bump.
"What? Why the hell would you think that?" Rob contended.
"He flies, he has x-ray vision, super strength and runs extremely fast." James chimed in, not looking up from his phone as he walked to the refreshments table.
"I told you Joy and the boy toy would agree with me."
"Who are you calling a boy toy, Steph?" Joy inquired, smacking the back of his head.
"Hey!" the olive-skinned man complained, fixing his hair.
The day went by fast as they proceeded to get the photo ops and autographs done, finishing up before the clock struck eight.
"Dinner's on me, guys!" Hilarie declared.
"My flight's two hours from now, so I'll have to pass. Shantel's leaving as well... Thank you, though!" Ashley said.
"Yeah, me too. Sorry, Burton. We'll see each other soon, alright babe?" Chad hugged her goodbye.
Everyone started to leave, agreeing to meet each other at Hell's Kitchen in half an hour.
"You coming?" James asked.
"Mmm... I'm just calling my mom to check on Maria and letting them know I'll be home for dinner tomorrow." Joy smiled softly, dialing the number on her phone.
"I'll wait for you." he offered in response.
"You don't have to, everyone left already. I'll meet you guys there."
"I insist."
"I'm a big girl, Mr. Lafferty. I can surely get there on my own." she reasoned, giving him a pointed look.
"Indeed, Ms. Lenz. But I shouldn't walk alone, it's a very dangerous world out there, I might get jumped, a pretty little thing like me."
"Yeah, I'm afraid you might... Someone out there was saying they'd sell their first born to Satan if they got to have you for a night."
"I think that's a fair trade." he joked, making her scoff.
"As if. I don't get it, I got you for free for nine years and I really don't see what the fuss is about."
"Best nine years of your life."
"Don't push your luck, Lafferty." Joy warned.
"Wouldn't think of it, Lenz." he winked. "Back to the point, do you want to walk to the restaurant with me? I could use a stretch."
"Sure. Let me just make my call and we'll be on our way."
The unpredictable weather in Wilmington made sure to make a statement once again, the night starting to settle in with a crisp draft running around the pair as they walked side by side. Joy shivered slightly, goosebumps raising all over her porcelain skin from the sudden impact of the cold atmosphere. She rubbed her hands over her naked arms, trying to generate some heat.
"Are you cold?"
"Oh, don't worry about it, I'd just forgotten how chilly it got at night." she waved it off.
James immediately took off his navy blue pullover, handing it to her.
"James, you're going to get a cold." Joy cautioned.
"Well, I don't sing for a living." he began. "Plus, I don't think I can handle hearing your hoarse voice ever again."
"It wasn't that bad!" she protested, grabbing the item of clothing he offered her and putting it on.
"You sounded like a fifty-year-old man who smoked five packs of cigarettes a day." he pointed out.
She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. James noticed the way his clothes almost swallowed her tiny frame, it was quite endearing if he were honest.
"This is so soft, I think I might keep it." Joy blurted out, running her hands through the cashmere fabric.
"Well, that's not going to happen." he teased.
"Why not?"
"My mom bought it for me last Christmas, she'd kill me if she knew I'd given it away."
"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away..." she sang, holding on to his arm.
"Oh, here we go."
"Don't pretend you don't like it! I know for a fact you've got some George Michael on your iPod."
"You've got One Direction!"
"So? They've got a couple of pretty great songs." Joy shrugged, sticking her tongue out. "Besides, I'm not discussing guilty pleasures with you, Shakira."
"You promised not to mention that ever again!" he groaned, making her chuckle in amusement.
"Don't worry, I won't... Just make sure your hips know it's supposed to be a secret."
"What, why would I... Oh. Very funny. Hips don't lie. Got it."
Joy was bent over laughing. He could listen to her laugh forever.
"Alright, you gave me no choice..." James sighed, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder.
"James! Put me down!" Joy screeched, slapping his back.
"Are you going to let go of the whole Shakira thing?"
"Cross my heart." she promised.
They made it to the restaurant before anyone else, sitting down and looking through the menu. James couldn't help but smile at the sight of a slightly disheveled Joy wearing his clothes, completely zoned out on the list of different options they had for dinner.
"Here you are!" Hilarie rejoiced, taking off her coat. "We've been waiting for you guys outside for twenty minutes!"
"You could've at least picked up your phones." Sophia scolded, plopping down next to Joy. "New attire?" she motioned to the pullover her friend was sporting.
"Yeah, I borrowed it, but I'm about ninety-eight percent sure I'll end up keeping it. It's so soft, touch it!"
James smirked at her comment as Sophia did was she told to do.
"Any news on the new gig?" he turned to Stephen, who was checking his e-mail for the millionth time that day.
"Not yet." Stephen mumbled in response. "God, I need to get out of the house... Ever since my mom moved in with me she started to make me go to church with her and tidy up my room. I can't even have friends over because she'll probably ask a ton of inappropriate questions like «Why aren't you married yet?» and say stuff like «When I was your age I already had all three of my babies. Stephen, why don't you give me grandchildren?»" he imitated his mother in a high-pitched voice.
"Well, look on the bright side, that'd mean you'd be able to call yourself «daddy» without it being creepy as fuck." James patted his shoulder.
"She makes me watch soap operas with her. I am not supposed to know every single detail about a soap opera! But I do. She took away my PlayStation because I didn't do the dishes. I'm so bored! Why do I feel like I'm fourteen again?" Stephen moaned.
"Is it that bad?"
"She wants me to stop cursing, so she changed the settings on my phone so that every time I type «fucking» and «shit» it changes to «flipping» and «poop». What do you think?"
"Sorry, buddy."
"Have you ever tried to sext someone and ended up sending that person a text that says «Poop, you're so flipping hot?»"
James hid his face in his hands, trying to control the urge to laugh.
"Nice to see you find my suffering amusing. Laugh all you want, but wait until Mama Lafferty finds out you had a sleepover with Little Miss Sunshine over there."
"Nothing happened! Plus, she loves Joy."
"Precisely. She'll be pissed you didn't take your chance, you big idiot."
"Yeah, yeah." James waved him off, taking a sip of his coke.
It wasn't long before the food arrived, making the group momentarily be silent to enjoy their meal. Hilarie cleared her throat, standing up.
"First of all, I would like to thank every single one of you for being here today. I am so grateful we all got to work with each other on such a special show. Each of you has enriched my life in one way or another and that makes me incredibly happy. I really hope we get to all come together like this many more times in the future and that we continue strengthening our friendship throughout the years. I love you all. Cheers." she said, raising her glass.
Everyone cheered, clapping after her small speech and drinking to it. Joy gazed at James tenderly, watching him take Stephen's glass away from him and smiling at the adorable face he made when he noticed she was looking at him.
The brown-eyed beauty flinched when she felt herself being pinched.
"Ow! Sophia, what the hell?" she yelped, rubbing her sore arm.
"Robert wanted me to hand you this. I called your name, but you were way too absorbed in Laffertyland to hear me." Sophia smirked.
Do you like James? Yes? No? Maybe? the napkin read.
"Oh dear god. He went from a four-year-old to a pre-pubescent kid in the blink of an eye, I'm impressed." she chuckled, cramping it up and throwing it at Rob's head. "Time to get Dumb and Dumber to bed."
They called two taxis, having to lure Stephen and Robert inside with promises of yet another food run, this time for a chocolate soufflé.
"I don't get it, they literally had two beers." Hilarie stated incredulously, strapping Rob in.
"Couple of lightweights." Antwon agreed, shaking his head.
Getting to the hotel, Sophia and Antwon helped Stephen up, listening to him babble something about asking the Pope to get his mom to leave his house.
"Okay, Robbie, let's go." Joy cooed.
"You look wonderful tonight, has anyone told you that? You know who also looks as handsome as ever? My boy James." he slurred.
James raised his eyebrow, holding him up while they waited for the elevator.
"Candle, light and soul forever, a dream of you and me together…say you believe it, say you believe it." Robert sang as they went up.
"Is he…?" James asked, glancing at Joy.
"He is." she confirmed.
"Free your mind of doubt and danger, be for real, don't be a stranger…We can achieve it, we can achieve it."
"Who knew Rob was a fan of the Spice Girls…" Joy commented, impressed with his song choice.
"Are you kidding me? He sang Spice Up Your Life at every single wrap party he attended."
"I don't remember him being drunk…"
"He wasn't." James laughed, helping him walk to his door.
"You two are the best people I know. You're like my ma and pa. I love you guys! Sing along!" he launched himself at his friends, making Joy stumble back.
"Okay buddy, we love you too, calm down. Give Joy your key."
Robert did as he was told and Joy opened the door, letting James almost carry him to his bed.
"Come a little bit closer baby, get it on, get it on, 'cause tonight is the night when two become one." he carried on singing, pointing at the pair.
"Robert Buckley, professional Spice Girls impersonator. I like it." James jested.
"He'd be the perfect Baby Spice." Joy added.
"Excuse me? I was born to be Posh Spice." Robert interrupted their exchange. "Robert Beckham."
They erupted in laughter, barely being able to breathe.
"Whatever you say, big guy." James pulled the covers over his body.
"Sleep tight." Joy said softly, leaving the room.
The raven haired man was about to do the same when Robert called his name one last time, looking back at his friend.
"Don't let her get away again."